Frying kettle



J. C, PITMAN May 7, 1935;

FRYI NG- KETTLE Filed Aug. 6, 1927 Patented May 7, 1935 UNITED sTATEs PATENT opl-FICE John C. Pitman, Swans, Mill# vApplication August 6, 1927, Seth] No. 211,037

2 Claims.

My invention relates to kettles forfrying with hot fat wherein the articles of food tobe fried are lcommonly placed in a perforated basket which is partially immersed in the hot fat. When this method of frying is employed. the article to be fried, such as sh, clams, etc., is commonly first covered with cracker crumbs, corn meal or batter, and in the process of frying particles of such matter commonly become detached from the article of food which is being fried, and, unless Vsome provision is made to prevent it, this debris from the frying articles of food will drop to the heated surface of the bottom of the kettle and, by contact with the heated surface of the interior of kettle, they will become burned, and consequently impregnate the fat with the products of their combustion, and will also otherwise undesirably flavor the fat so as to render it vshortly unfit for further use in cooking. Various means employed and it has been the special object of my invention to provide a simple, cheap, and effective means of segregating debris within the fat and preventing it from burning. It has been the furtherobject of-=my invention to provide means ,for preventing the hot fat within the kettle from smoking so as to cause disagreeable Smoke and vapors incidental to the use of this general type of apparatus.

My invention may be best understood by reference to the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 shows a side view of my device with the kettle and adjacent parts in vertical crosssection. v

Fig. 2 is a section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Referring now more specifically to the drawing, I is a square box-like frame having an open base 2 and supported by legs 3 at each corner thereof. Within I he frame I square metallic frame 4 which forms a support for the outer extremity of a flange 5 attached to the exterior oi' the kettle 6.

The top of the frame I is open so as to permit the space between the kettle 6 and the frame I to be packed with asbestos cement 'I or some other suitable non-heat-conducting material in the space which lies above the ange 5, after which the space so packed may be enclosed by a cap-plate 8 provided with a ange 9 which partly embraces the top of frame I and also provided with a dependent flange I0 which may 'a vertical rim yI4 which the base of thebe secured to the interior of the rim of the kettle l. y A

Upon a bracket II attached to the side of the frame I is suspended the frying basket I2.

Within the kettle I there is removably mounted a'funnel shaped member Il .which at its top has fits closely against the adjacent side o1' the kettle with free sliding nt, at a point substantially' below the surface level of the cooling liquid. The neck I5 of the shaped member I3 nts the central part of the base'of the kettle 6. Suitable holes II, preferably covered by ne wire the circulation of hot fat within the interior of the kettle, allowing it to enter 15 the space between the sides of the kettle 6 and the funnel shaped member Il and flow inwardly therefrom. These holes Il are preferably arranged and located as shown in Fig.` 1 of the drawing. Across bar I'I attached at either end 20 to the opposite sidesV of t e funnel shaped member Il serves as a convenient aid in withdrawing the funnel shaped member I 3 for the purpose of cleaning. A

A ring-shaped gas burner I l serves to apply 25 heat to the bottom oi' the kettle 8 at points Vfairly remote from thev neck of the funnel shaped member Il, and a draw-of! with a suitable handle .sides of the funnel shaped member I3 and accumulate in the lower portion thereof adjacent the neck Il and below the lower sides of the kettle and the funnel shaped member, which in-ilow passes through the upper row of holes I I, this in-iiow being compensated by an out-flow of cooler fat through the lower row 50 of holes It, thus tending to subject the debris in the lower part of 4die funnel shaped member to the influence of tile cooler part of the fat. The debris within the lower part of the funnel shaped member may be quickly and conveniently drawn of current meeting 2 oi! by opening valve Il without the withdrawal of much of the useful fat within the kettle. and the contents of the kettle may thus be kept free from contamination by burned or overcooked particles oi' crumbs. meal, batter. or other debris.

In making provision within the kettle of meanstoshieldthehotbaseandsidesof the kettle from contact with the debris of cooking itis very important not to interfere with the rapid transfer of heat in the liquid cooking medium both by conductance and by convection. It is important that there be provision for a large volume of the cooking liquid in the base of the kettle between the heated base and the shielding means so that this large volume of the liquid may receive'the unimpeded transfer of heat. vand it is also important that there be an eective provision for the circulation of the liquid cooking medium, 'such that currents of freshly heated liquid may rise and have access to the area where cookingis done within or above the shielding means, and'. upon cooling,-

may again descend and escape from the shielding means to a place where heat may be restored in order that the cycle may be repeated.

My funnel shaped member I3 is particularly well adapted for this purpose as space for a large volume of liquid on its outside between this shielding member and the heated lower part of the kettle. along` the inner surface oi' which convection currents rise, and causes the crowding Vof these rising currents in the more connned space, between ythe side ofthe kettle and the upper part of the funnel shaped member. so as to force cooking area of the kettle. As in this inward progress the currents are cooled nearer the central vertical axis of thev device by contact with the cold food inserted for cooking they tend to descend near the central vertical axis and hence encounter more readily the more centrally located lower row of apertures near the neck `of funnel. Hence the rising and descending currents are kept apart 'so that the flow is easy and continuous and not interrupted by bathing effects current and thus the high temperature necessary to be maintained in the it .provides 'stantially the ilow. inward to the` cooking area is kept fairly constant so that charges of cold food to be cooked may be successively inserted in rapid manner without waiting between charges for heat losses to be restored.

I have noted that the tendency of fat in such kettles to become overheated and to smoke, thus causing disagreeable fumes, arises out of a condition commonly existing adiacent the sides of the kettle near the top where the fat becomes highly heated in the presence of air adjacent the interior surface of the kettle near the top thereof. To keep this area cool and to prevent such disagreeable fumes, I have provided the packing of insulated matter 1. The heat arising from the burner il may pass out of suitable holes 2| located closely beneath the supporting frame l. Thus the sides of the kettle adjacent the top are kept relatively cool so that the smoking of the fat is reduced to a harmless minimum.r f y Y Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim is,-

lfIn a device of the character specified the combination of a kettle, means for applying heat to the .bottom portion of said kettle and a funnel shaped member mounted within said kettle, the top rim of said funnel shaped member being `arranged to Contact loosely with the inside of the wall of the kettle, at a point subbelow the surface level of an operative charge of the cooking liquid, said funnel shaped member being provided with an upper row of holes in the upper portion thereof and with a lower row of holes in the lower restricted portion thereof.

2. In a device of the character specified the combination of a kettle having a base portion which is rounded in vertical cross-section, means for applyim heat to the bottom portion of said kettler and a funnel shaped member removably mounted within said kettle, said funnel shaped member being provided with an upper row of holes in the upper portion thereof and with a lower row of holes in the lower restricted portion thereof.

JOHN C. PI'I'MAN. 

